Congrats to Ford for getting their 2nd agency upgrade to investment grade debt. They now get back the collateral they put up for their $25B home improvement loan back some 5 or 6 years ago. They now have the rights to the Blue Oval and their headquarters.

Congrats to Ford for getting their 2nd agency upgrade to investment grade debt. They now get back the collateral they put up for their $25B home improvement loan back some 5 or 6 years ago. They now have the rights to the Blue Oval and their headquarters.

"The Ford Blue Oval is back where it belongs with the Ford family of 166,000 employees around the world. This is a great day for us and is the result of several years of hard work and progress by everyone associated with Ford.

"When we pledged the Ford Blue Oval as part of the loan package, we were not just pledging an asset. We pledged our heritage. The Ford Blue Oval is one of the most recognized symbols in the world, and it is a source of great pride and passion, both inside and outside our company. Getting the Ford Blue Oval back feels amazing, and it is one of the best days that I can remember."

The following statement can be attributed to Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer, Ford Motor Company:

"We are so proud of today's decision by Moody's and the resulting release of all collateral – particularly the Ford Blue Oval. This is an important milestone and further proof that, by staying laser-focused on our One Ford plan, the Ford team can deliver great products, build a strong business and contribute to a better world even through the most challenging external environment.

"Moving forward, we will continue to focus on driving profitable growth for all of our stakeholders. We are confident that, by staying focused on our plan and working together, we will maintain strong investment grade ratings through all economic cycles."

Background

December 2006: Raised $23.5 billion in liquidity, consisting of $18.5 billion of senior secured debt and credit facilities, secured by substantially all of our domestic assets, including the Ford Blue Oval, F-150 and Mustang trademarks, and $5 billion of unsecured convertible debt.

November 2007: Together with the UAW, Ford negotiated a transformational labor agreement, with a lower wage structure for new employees and flexible work rules

March 2009: Reached ground breaking UAW agreement that helped the company achieve parity with transplant automakers, resulting in incremental annual savings and efficiencies

The Caddy XTS is here, (another link) first new model in three years and just ahead of the more interesting ATS 3-Series killer. It's no sports sedan, instead being a sort of ultimate Camry for the silver set, V6 front drive. OTOH, it's said to be excellent for what it is, especially as an indication of future interiors for the brand: "Case in point: I came and left the XTS drive in a Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG, and the XTS's innards are noticeably finer overall."

I was most interested in CUE, the gadget interface. I like the idea of a fully touch interface that can adapt its displays and all that, even if Ford's first effort got some pushback. GM has added haptic feedback and a number of Apple-like gestures to theirs. It's still beta in the tested cars but it looks interesting. It'll be in the ATS and SRX by the end of the year.

EDIT: pics

Spoiler: show

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Yeah, the lenders figured they could get a couple hundred million for it from some chinese, russian, or indian govt/company.

Really? I would have thought they were just offering up the third-party licensing rights, not the actual brand. Like, the buck they make on each "Ford" t-shirt, keychain, coffee mug, ad nauseum.

I was most interested in CUE, the gadget interface. I like the idea of a fully touch interface that can adapt its displays and all that, even if Ford's first effort got some pushback.

I disagree. Touch interfaces are a terrible idea for cars. All buttons should be physical, and actually require movement to activate so you can find them blindly. Voice controls are also acceptable. Making someone look away from the road and carefully poke an interface is dangerous.

I was most interested in CUE, the gadget interface. I like the idea of a fully touch interface that can adapt its displays and all that, even if Ford's first effort got some pushback.

I disagree. Touch interfaces are a terrible idea for cars. All buttons should be physical, and actually require movement to activate so you can find them blindly. Voice controls are also acceptable. Making someone look away from the road and carefully poke an interface is dangerous.

Possibly. It does have a set of fixed-purpose controls with feedback—they vibrate—so it may be less distracting. Also seems to have a smarter voice recognition, with Siri-like parsing talents so you don't have to speak like a robot.

Wired has an article up this morning that's almost all about CUE. (Linux! Apps!) It includes this image of the central display in four different configurations.

Today in Ford History: May 25, 1965 marked the day that NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston, TX became operational with the launch of the Gemini IV spacecraft. NASA's prime contractor for Mission Control was Philco - a subsidiary of Ford. Mission Control housed what was then the largest assembly of television switching equipment of the world, using more than 10,000 miles of wiring and nearly 1,200 cabinets of electronic equipment.

For as much cool stuff I have read about Sync, I also see alot of reviewers say it is too fiddly and they don't want something so complicated and distracting when they are driving.

I bought my new car (Chevy Sonic) in part because the dash was very simple and intuitive. But, I am somewhat "anti-technology" when it comes to some things. Building in a fancy interface and touch screens and all that seems like over-kill for what you want to do in a car, IMHO. Just alot of bells and whistles that add cost, slow you down, and can break.

I really like my iDrive (the modern one with hard coded buttons around the jog wheel), I'd much rather have that than a touchscreen personally. Maybe if you're parked and doing nothing else a touch screen might be faster or handier, but once the engine is on I don't want that.

I understand the need for physical controls for common functions, but I also think at this point a new car has too many features for a computer to not be the central interface. I like that Ford and GM are trying to think comprehensively. Some refinement may follow, sure, but I think the basic idea is right.

As far as GM's future and what this says, I like it a lot. I've read half dozen first drives now today and they're all glowing. The only consistent caveat is to point out that this thing is a cruiser by design. Which is fine; the silver demographic is very important to the brand and GM.

I also like what it says about the ATS, which gets all the same tech (the vibrating seat lane warning is cool) in an aggressive RWD sport sedan package. It also gets the same engine but with 800 fewer pounds. Eight hundred. (4200 vs 3600 roughly)

Possibly. It does have a set of fixed-purpose controls with feedback—they vibrate—so it may be less distracting. Also seems to have a smarter voice recognition, with Siri-like parsing talents so you don't have to speak like a robot.

Keep in mind that Tuxedocat drinks pretty heavily from the Bavarian Koolaid (Which I say with love as a frequent German car owner).

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I really like my iDrive (the modern one with hard coded buttons around the jog wheel), I'd much rather have that than a touchscreen personally. Maybe if you're parked and doing nothing else a touch screen might be faster or handier, but once the engine is on I don't want that.

They're both dangerous when moving. I spent a lot of time on the autobahn with a new 5 series and iDrive last month. It still requires you to look away to enter directions and the like. Old school switches and buttons are a bit easier to find by touch without looking away but most people aren't tactile enough to do that either.

Before all this tech, I recall a previous AAA study in which they found ~15% of all accidents were recorded as "distracted driver." Of those, and I'm going from memory here, the biggest category was talking to the moron next to you. The next was screwing with the radio at something like 18%.

Any time your hands aren't on the wheel and your eyes aren't on the road, you're a menace. The sooner that Siri level voice command is the norm, the better.

Before all this tech, I recall a previous AAA study in which they found ~15% of all accidents were recorded as "distracted driver." Of those, and I'm going from memory here, the biggest category was talking to the moron next to you. The next was screwing with the radio at something like 18%.

Any time your hands aren't on the wheel and your eyes aren't on the road, you're a menace. The sooner that Siri level voice command is the norm, the better.

I find this surprising because I thought many studies/anecdotes/'data' said that interacting with a person who is in the car with you is safer because they also can see the road conditions/developing situations. I never really bought that, but it was still put forth by a few. I very much suspect changing a radio station (or much more dangerous trying to find a decent station in a rental car in a new local) is just as distracting as talking on a cell phone.

I do maintain that texting while driving is incredibly more stupid and horrible since it requires you to look at your phone and take your eyes off the road. Talking on the phone you can still see where you are going.

I don't think talking holding a phone to your face is more dangerous than using a hands free headset (manuals excluded. technology bitches)

I find this surprising because I thought many studies/anecdotes/'data' said that interacting with a person who is in the car with you is safer because they also can see the road conditions/developing situations. I never really bought that, but it was still put forth by a few. I very much suspect changing a radio station (or much more dangerous trying to find a decent station in a rental car in a new local) is just as distracting as talking on a cell phone.

I'm having trouble finding the specific study now, as there has been a bunch more on teens and cell phones which swamps our my search. It found that interacting with another person and screwing with the radio were a WAY more common cause of crashes, by an order of magnitude. Of course, this was several years ago, before smartphones and texting were ubiquitous.

Of course, this was several years ago, before smartphones and texting were ubiquitous.

Does that mean accident rates are now significantly higher, since we've still got all the old stuff on top of that?

I would assume. At the time, cell phone usage was only like 1% of the 15% of accidents that are reported as distraction caused. I remember the numbers because it was in stark contrast to all the political posturing about banning them.

I have no problems with my droid 3 depleting its batteries when it's hooked up to sync. How long are you driving around listening to music? Because I can get about six hours out of mine. Of course, we got the option in both the Flex and the truck that has the integrated HDD, so we just ripped our cd's onto that and listen to music that way. But when I'm bored with my music, I can usually listen to Pandora from my droid for quite some time.

I bought my new car (Chevy Sonic) in part because the dash was very simple and intuitive. But, I am somewhat "anti-technology" when it comes to some things.

Thoughts on your Sonic? I'm going to test drive on later today, and would love to hear some feedback.

Edit: Saw your post in the Car Pictures thread - glad to hear that you like it. I was all primed to buy a Jetta Sportwagen TDI, but the cost of the Sonic (even though it is a much smaller car) may win out.

I have no problems with my droid 3 depleting its batteries when it's hooked up to sync. How long are you driving around listening to music? Because I can get about six hours out of mine. Of course, we got the option in both the Flex and the truck that has the integrated HDD, so we just ripped our cd's onto that and listen to music that way. But when I'm bored with my music, I can usually listen to Pandora from my droid for quite some time.

To me it's irrelevant as the car is my wife's

Her commute is roughly 45 minutes each way.

Honestly, I didn't think what I said anything controversial: her phone seems to lose battery quite rapidly when paired with Sync on her new car. That's not an OMG FORD SUCKS comment. That's a: "hmm, with all this bluetooth connected doohickery, a car charging solution is probably a good idea."

Certainly I'd hate to see her not be able to make a necessary/emergency phone call because she listened to a little too much AC/DC.

Hell, it's even related to the fact that as our phones get more capable, it's all too easy to play a little too much Infinity Blade and not have a phone until we charge it. Meta-commentary, if you will.

I have no problems with my droid 3 depleting its batteries when it's hooked up to sync. How long are you driving around listening to music? Because I can get about six hours out of mine. Of course, we got the option in both the Flex and the truck that has the integrated HDD, so we just ripped our cd's onto that and listen to music that way. But when I'm bored with my music, I can usually listen to Pandora from my droid for quite some time.

To me it's irrelevant as the car is my wife's

Her commute is roughly 45 minutes each way.

Honestly, I didn't think what I said anything controversial: her phone seems to lose battery quite rapidly when paired with Sync on her new car. That's not an OMG FORD SUCKS comment. That's a: "hmm, with all this bluetooth connected doohickery, a car charging solution is probably a good idea."

Certainly I'd hate to see her not be able to make a necessary/emergency phone call because she listened to a little too much AC/DC.

Hell, it's even related to the fact that as our phones get more capable, it's all too easy to play a little too much Infinity Blade and not have a phone until we charge it. Meta-commentary, if you will.

I'm not sure why this is even an issue. You plug the phone in. End of story. No drained battery, and with most of the Smartphones much more functionality than bluetooth on its own gives you.

I have no problems with my droid 3 depleting its batteries when it's hooked up to sync. How long are you driving around listening to music? Because I can get about six hours out of mine. Of course, we got the option in both the Flex and the truck that has the integrated HDD, so we just ripped our cd's onto that and listen to music that way. But when I'm bored with my music, I can usually listen to Pandora from my droid for quite some time.

To me it's irrelevant as the car is my wife's

Her commute is roughly 45 minutes each way.

Honestly, I didn't think what I said anything controversial: her phone seems to lose battery quite rapidly when paired with Sync on her new car. That's not an OMG FORD SUCKS comment. That's a: "hmm, with all this bluetooth connected doohickery, a car charging solution is probably a good idea."

Certainly I'd hate to see her not be able to make a necessary/emergency phone call because she listened to a little too much AC/DC.

Hell, it's even related to the fact that as our phones get more capable, it's all too easy to play a little too much Infinity Blade and not have a phone until we charge it. Meta-commentary, if you will.

I'm not sure why this is even an issue. You plug the phone in. End of story. No drained battery, and with most of the Smartphones much more functionality than bluetooth on its own gives you.

It's not an issue. It's an observation, a little something that surprised me somewhat.

We're free to do that, right?

Hell, if I had opted for that particular upgrade on my Camaro, I'm sure I would have made this same observation way back in 2009. Bluetooth connectivity + using your cellphone for tasks = draining cellphone battery. Not really different than saying "Playing Skyrim on my laptop drains eats battery! I should probably have a charger handy if I want to play Skyrim."

Or to put it another way: Much like playing Skyrim on a laptop, I think Sync and other equivalent systems are pretty cool. In fact, after seeing it in action, I consider bluetooth connectivity to be mandatory on my next car. However, I noticed that such systems demand a form of charger in the car, which is exactly what I've said since my first post on the topic, so I'm not sure why people keep saying "just plug it in". Yeah, I know. She's keeping a spare cable in her car now, actually.

Although personally I wouldn't bother with plugging the phone in. I'd shove my music on a USB drive and plug that in, leaving the phone nicely in my pocket, free to make and receive calls via the bluetooth function.

Just to recap: observing that Sync causes an iPhone's batteries to drain quickly isn't really a criticism. It's an observation, leading to the advice: "If you think Sync is pretty cool (and I do) and you like the features it gives you (and I do), then it would be a good idea to have some form of charging your phone handy in the car, as it can lead to high battery usage".

Although personally I wouldn't bother with plugging the phone in. I'd shove my music on a USB drive and plug that in, leaving the phone nicely in my pocket, free to make and receive calls via the bluetooth function.

Just to recap: observing that Sync causes an iPhone's batteries to drain quickly isn't really a criticism. It's an observation, leading to the advice: "If you think Sync is pretty cool (and I do) and you like the features it gives you (and I do), then it would be a good idea to have some form of charging your phone handy in the car, as it can lead to high battery usage".

This is why I was confused. I didn't understand you didn't want to plug the phone in. My appologies.

I use a similar set up like you. I have my phone in my pocket, and my MP3 player in the center console box. No music on the phone, just using it as a phone.

Thread, I'm looking to get a '69 Fastback custom built (restomod style) from the ground up. Unfortunately I don't have the time or space to do it myself, so I've decided to call in the professionals and go the custom shop route. I know there are a lot of shops which do this type of work, though I'm having a hard time finding any or figuring out where the best ones are at. Can anyone give me any recommendations or point me in the right direction? A shop in the midwest is prefered, but anywhere in the nation is acceptable. Thanks!